


Watching stars collide

by diligentclimber



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Chris ruins everything, F/M, Fluff, Grieving, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kissing, One Shot, Songfic ?? sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24917203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diligentclimber/pseuds/diligentclimber
Summary: Just two friends meeting in the middle of the night to "watch the stars."
Relationships: Sam Giddings/Josh Washington
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	Watching stars collide

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyy so this is actually my first 'real' work here, I hope it's not too bad and pleasepleaseplease tell me if you notice any typo/grammar mistake while reading because English isn't my mother-tongue, I'm still studying it everyday. I love these two so much that I *needed* to write them. 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr and Twitter : hotdamnitsromy (I just got Tumblr though I really don't know how it works and I'm confused by ANYWAY), I hope you guys are gonna enjoy my little story !

He’d heard a noise, he was sure of it. He hadn't managed to make out what it was (a door closing, he thought). With the darkness of the night filling the lodge, he hadn’t been able to see any silhouette, shape or shadow. He’d only heard the noise. That’s all.

They were perched on the top of a deserted mountain, so it would’ve been unlikely that a burglar had infiltrated the property. The only possible answer was that a stray animal had ventured too far from its territory and had managed to go through one of the windows left open. The heat had somehow forced them to let in the air, since the only fan available had given up the ghost earlier in the afternoon. His family had been able to buy a mountain, but a stupid second-hand fan was barely affordable, huh ?

“Hey, Chris, you hear that ?” He turned to his best friend, who was on the couch with him. No reaction ; he continued to snore, stunned by the mixture of grass and alcohol that had sent them all to bed shortly after midnight. "Oh c’mon, don't tell me you’re all sleeping ?"

No matter where this damn lost animal was, Josh couldn't let it wander around the cabin. In no case did he want to be woken up by Jessica screaming because of a rat that had passed between her legs. No, thank you. Not after all the beers he’d swallowed earlier. 

Groaning, he managed to straight up from the couch on which he’d fallen asleep, feeling his neck hurting a little because of the uncomfortable position (okay, to be honest, the lodge couch had never been the best place to take a nap, the thing was harder than a rock). He used the heel of his hands to rub his eyes, his eyesight gradually getting used to the darkness around him. He listened for a moment, trying to hear something above the snoring of Mike sleeping on the floor. With any luck, maybe the thing had returned … wherever it was supposed to be. But no, unfortunately, the click persisted, accompanied ... by splashes ? Okay,  _ that _ was weird. He was  _ almost _ certain that raccoons didn’t play in the water. 

It wasn’t an animal.

Suddenly Josh was standing on his feet, his body sagging for a few seconds as his vision filled with stars and fireworks, warning him that he’d risen far too quickly for his brain to have the time to record what was going on. “Alright. Enough.” 

He stretched his arms. Then he took the initiative to take a step forward, then a second. He stepped over a body (probably Ashley, who had gotten rid of her plaid), had been careful not to crush Matt's hand and once all the body tide had passed, he sighed, looking at them. He almost felt sorry to watch them. If he’d had a sore neck from the couch, he didn't even want to think about the back pain the others would experience when they woke up. The floor may have been cooler, but it wasn't any more comfortable. 

A breeze brought him back to reality, and he shook his head. It was better to give up and not worry about them. Josh scratched the back of his head, stifling a yawn. Slowly, as quietly as he could, he made his way to the kitchen, unsure of what he expected to find there. He hoped it was a rat - oh God, he  _ hoped _ \- because he was wayyyy too shit-faced and tired to fall face to face with a burglar. 

The moon lit the room with its pale blue light when he entered it. He immediately saw what had woken him up and thank God it was neither a rat nor a dangerous guy ready to strangle him. No, it was just the mosquito net of the door leading to the garden, which wasn’t closed properly, slamming at a regular rate with the light wind that rose. But what caught his eye was neither the mosquito net, nor the rattling it produced every two seconds, but the light beyond the canvas.

Yes,  _ light _ . Someone had turned on the exterior lights of the lodge. Or rather, the  _ automatic _ spots had turned on.

Great. Why not.

_ Interesting _ .

As a precaution, Josh gently opened one of the drawers, rummaging for a knife or a pair of scissors, anything he could use if he ever had to defend himself. His fingers grasped a fork.  _ Huh _ . He sighed ; that would do. He didn't have time to linger. After all, a fork could also be used as a defense object if necessary : it was retrospectively more dangerous than a knife, if you thought about it, right ? Three blades instead of one. Two birds with one stone, huh ? Or rather ... three birds with one stone ? Haha …

No, Josh wasn’t nervous. At all ! He wasn’t nervous at all ! Absolutely not. He wasn’t clutching the fork like his life was related to this thing, his muscles tight and his breathing stuck in his throat. Naaah !

Okay, yes he was. He was really, really nervous now, wide awake, the pain in his neck long forgotten. 

He approached the door, opening it gently, grimacing as it creaked. Once again, his parents had built a luxury complex but hadn’t been screwed to buy doors with correct hinges. His legs guided him slowly on the porch, going down the steps until he touched the grass tickling the soles of his feet. He shivered at the idea of insects that could climb up his ankles, but the thought was quickly wiped from his mind when another splash sound reached his ears. He frowned. 

Josh walked along the facade, suddenly feeling ridiculous. It was usually the kind of character he laughed at in horror movies and yet there he was, doing the exact same thing. With a fork in his hand. Great. 

He continued to follow the sounds, intrigued and suspicious. If it weren't an animal, then it was probably _someone_ , right ?

As he was about to turn the corner, the sounds now closer to him than he would have liked, he saw a shadow, projected onto the grass by the dazzling light of the spots.

Josh accelerated the pace, ready to jump on whoever who was wandering around his pool. When he finally passed the wall, he collided with the supposed intruder, raising the fork above his head in a moment of panic.

“Augh !”

And then his body froze, his arm still outstretched in the air, his knuckles now whitened around the fork. He lowered his head, slowly, letting the information register in his brain. In front of him was a distraught and confused Sam, hair wet, bundled up in a bath towel, water dripping from her tips. Her eyes flickered nervously from Josh to the fork, fast and frantic. After a moment of stupefaction from both of them, he threw the fork away into the grass as if the object had suddenly burned him. 

“Were you going to  _ stab _ me !?” 

“I … uh …” Ooooooh boy. Everything was slowly taking shape in his head. Obviously. Obviously, Sam had the  _ wonderful _ idea of going for a swim in the middle of the night (and above all :  _ alone _ ) while everyone was sleeping. Sure why not. This was a Sam thing : bathing when the moment was the least favorable or the least adapted. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Sam snorted, eyebrows raised so high on her forehead that they almost threatened to leave her head. “Yeah, well, you did though. What are you even doing here ?” There was no anger in her voice, just confusion and certainly a bit of indignation if he wasn’t mistaking.

‘ _ Well you see, my dear Samantha,  _ someone _ decided it would be fun to take a little dip at three in the morning in my swimming pool leaving the door open behind her _ ,’ he would have answered. Instead, he gestured toward the pool, then toward her, “What are  _ you _ doing here ?”

At least she had the decency to seem surprised. "Oh, that. Yeah. Uh, well, it was really hot in there, and I was a little tired of not being able to sleep, so I thought a little swim in the freshwater could do good and maybe help me sleep. I'm always exhausted after swimming, so …” She made her gaze travel to the trees around them, swaying on the soles of her feet.

“Uh huh. Leaving the door open so that the mosquitos can suck our blood until we’re all dry. Not your smartest choice, Sammy, I gotta admit.” His sentence was punctuated by a push in his plexus from Sam. 

"Hey, it's not my fault your parents are unable to afford furniture that is not rickety or completely ineffective !” He was relieved when her laugh joined his, authentic and true. "You wanna come join me ? I just got out of the water but I'm already hot again." As if to demonstrate, she shook her hand near her face to send air, using it like a fan.

He shrugged, looking briefly at the pool whose water was still rippling waves that Sam had created while swimming. "I'm not really dressed for it," he said, looking down at his pajama shorts. 

“Who cares ? You wear boxers, right ? It’s practically the same thing. I'm not gonna make fun of you if you’re wearing the one with the spider-man designs, you know.” She winked at him, already turning to walk towards the pool, her now wet bun swinging in the back of her neck.

“Hey, how do you know  _ that _ ?” It was a joke, of course, he didn’t have any spider-man underwear, but he wanted to play along. 

Around them, the cicadas began to sing. Josh watched Sam click on her playlist, being careful not to turn the volume up too high not to wake up anyone else. The sound was just perfect for background music ; not too loud but enough to be heard over the sounds of the water and the forest. He recognized the music immediately. It was a song that she and Hannah both used to listen to a lot.  _ Shallows _ , by Daughter. It was peaceful. Relaxing. Calm. Enough to make him forget where he was for a couple of seconds.

  
  
  


_ Let the water rise _

_ Let the ground crack _

_ Let me fall inside _

_ Lying on my back _

  
  
  


“You comin’ or not ?” Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he watched her standing there by the pool, holding her towel tight around her chest. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” He knew full well that he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway after having such a fright. He took off his t-shirt first, watching the beautiful blonde dropping her towel on the concrete, and he was suddenly hypnotized by the curve of her hips. Not without a perverse thought, he let his eyes go down along her perfectly muscular back, her well drawn abs and her legs as she made her way towards the pool. He had seen her in a swimsuit before. A few hours back, they had even played volleyball in the water all together when the heat had become unbearable. But there, in the light of the spots mixed with the moon and the stars, while remaining in the reassuring darkness of the woods, he had the impression of seeing her for the first time.

  
  
  


_ Dry your smoke-stung eyes _

_ So you can see the light _

_ You're staring at the sky _

_ Watching stars collide _

  
  
  


He got rid of his shorts, his only clothing being his boxers. Sam was already in the water, her head being the only part of her body now visible. She let herself float, eyes closed, on the surface, like a body devoid of life. 

When he plunged his legs into the cold water, he immediately understood why Sam had had this brilliant idea, all things considered. Indeed, it was very good. He hadn't realized how hot it was until the water hit his skin. Josh did take some time to fully enter the pool, however.  _ Some _ parts ... well, had a hard time accepting the temperature change.

  
  
  


_ If you leave _

_ When I go _

_ Find me _

_ In the shallows _

  
  
  


Meanwhile, Sam continued to float, her hair also floating around her head like seaweed, framing her face. Still eyes closed, she opened her mouth. “I love that song. It reminds me of her.”

He didn't know why she was telling him that. Maybe she just needed to tell someone. Josh joined Sam in a few strokes, causing the water to ripple. “I haven’t heard it in months.” Since they disappeared, he thought. 

“I know.” She opened her eyes, and he saw her jump a little, as if she was surprised by the stars above their heads. He was also looking at the stars. One in particular. A star that had blonde hair and green eyes, right in front of him, in the water. The most beautiful one.

Without really knowing why, as if his body no longer obeyed his brain, he passed his hands under Sam's back, touching her skin with his fingers to guide her through the pool. He thought he felt her stiffen for a moment, but she relaxed right away, her eyes still scanning the starry sky and the large, round, silvery moon.

  
  
  


_ When the time comes _

_ On the last day _

_ When they start to come down _

_ Will you just _

_ Will you run away ? _

  
  
  


They didn't say anything for a minute, and that was good, because he didn't want anything to ruin ... whatever they were having. 

He allowed himself to watch her. His eyes started running again along her body as they had done a few minutes before, passing from the angle of her jaw to her collarbones, then passing to her chest, and then ...

He saw the scars.

White and pink, large and visible, on her lower abdomen.

He knew she’d struggled to recover from the disappearance of the girls, as well as from the death of her mother shortly before they went missing. He knew she had suffered. So he said nothing. Not a single remark. Not a single word. And he didn't blame her. Who could ? Each had a different coping mechanism.

  
  
  


_ And let it all rain down _

_ From the blood stained clouds _

_ Come out, come out, to the sea my love _

_ And just _

_ Drown with me _

  
  
  


She turned her head to meet his eyes as he continued to guide her into the water. “I know you’re looking at them.” Her voice cracked a little, as if she hadn't used it for days, but there wasn’t a single ounce of reproach. It was just declarative. “You don’t have to worry, I’m clean now.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” was all he managed to say. He held her closer to his chest. “I’m not better, you know, so I can’t and won’t blame you for doing this. As long as you’re staying with me, it’s alright.” About ten minutes ago, he was standing in the dark with a stupid fork, ready to stab what he thought was an intruder, and now he was having a heart to heart with Sam on old mistakes of the past they had both committed, listening to a song they had heard far too often to deny it. 

“I won't leave, I promise. Almost every person I’ve known in my life has either died, disappeared or left me. I don’t want to be part of them. If that makes sense.” She frowned, certainly thinking about what she’d just said, not sure if her words actually made sense or not.

"No, it doesn't really make any sense, but I think I understand."

She laughed softly. “I know you do.”

  
  
  


_ If you leave _

_ When I go _

_ Find me _

_ In the shallows _

  
  


She straightened up, and Josh withdrew his hands, suddenly feeling useless, not knowing what to do with them. It was as if his hands had been created to hold her, and once they were no longer in contact with her skin, they lost all their usefulness. She crossed her hands behind his neck, intertwining her fingers and pulling him closer. He knew what was going to happen - it didn't take a genius to know  _ it _ was going to happen. The way she had plunged her eyes into his, the intensity of her gaze, his hands moving down her back, their legs touching in the water … 

The scenery was perfect.

  
  
  


_ Lying on my back _

_ Watching stars collide _

  
  
  


The song came to an end when their lips met. They didn’t know which one had made the first move, but they didn’t care. It was a shy, sweet, furtive kiss. When they parted, their foreheads touching each other, their eyes locked together, it was silent around them. As if the world was made of cotton. Even the cicadas had stopped their serenade. Sam's hair had created a curtain between them and the real world. Without really realizing it, she had wrapped her legs around his pelvis, making them even closer to each other. Neither could tell if it was the tiredness, the booze, or the heat of July, but they both seemed to be just as dizzy and stunned as the other. He watched her licking her lips, and he immediately loved how her eyes were full with desire. 

“Can I kiss you again ?” he asked. 

Her response was to rush to his lips again, making her fingers travel through the dark curls of his hair, craving for something more. "Don't ask, next time."

And then he was kissing all over her neck, feeling her nails sink into his back, biting her gently near her ear, feeling her breathing hard. The outside world no longer existed, and luckily they were in the water, because his legs were so cottony that he doubted he would have stood if they had been on dry land. They kissed, all now going far beyond the sweet and cute romanticism they wrote in books and movies. The erotic tension had overwhelmed them both, making them even hotter than they were before entering the water. Josh would have lied if he said he didn't feel tighter at his lower abdomen.

Everything was made of pink and tenderness, the sounds of the forest coming back to life around them, a light breeze rising to make Sam's hair wavy. One of his hands moved to remove the hair tie that still held them, freeing the blonde curls from their prison.

And as Sam was about to kiss Josh again, a creak was heard. Josh recognized it ; it was the door opening. Someone was coming out of the lodge.

They parted as fast as lightning, their faces reddened by the heat and lack of oxygen.

Then a scream followed the creaking of the door.

Josh closed his eyes, clenching his jaw. “Oh goddammit, I’m gonna strangle him.”

“What the hell his a  _ fork _ doing in the grass !? Who put that  _ here _ !?” Chris' figure suddenly appeared, the light from the spots reflecting on the lenses of his glasses, seeming to blind him for a few seconds. "I could’ve punctured my foot with this thing ! I-I-I could’ve ended up in the hospital !" He was now holding the fork between his fingers, brandishing it in the air so both of them could see it. 

Josh brought his fingers to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, frowning and eyes closed. Of course he had to come and ruin everything. Of course !  _ Goddammit _ ,  _ Chris _ .

“What’re you guys doing’ here anyway ? It’s like three in the morning !” 

Sam gave a little laugh, like nothing had just happened between them. "Watching stars." At least  _ she _ managed to keep calm.

Chris looked at them for a moment, standing like a fool, his eyes switching from Sam's smile to Josh's obvious frustration. Lost (and above all very,  _ very _ tired), he shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'okay, whatever', and turned around before disappearing inside the lodge with the fork. 

After a few seconds of silence, making sure Chris was nowhere to be seen anymore, they turned to each other.

"We should watch the stars more often, then," she said, approaching him again with a look that spoke volumes.

And then, they met again, their bodies becoming one, joined by their lips. Like stars colliding.


End file.
